Israeli airstrikes target Gaza sites, first since cease-fire

Israeli security forces and forensics on site after an alleged vehicle-ramming and stabbing by a Palestinian woman in Hizmeh. Pics/AFP

Israeli aircraft carried out a series of airstrikes at militant sites in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, the first such raids since a shaky cease-fire ended the war with Hamas last month.

The airstrikes targeted facilities used by Hamas militants for meetings to plan attacks, the Israeli military said, blaming the group for any violence emanating from Gaza. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

PM Naftali Bennett, who promised a pragmatic approach to the situation, seen with Shirley Pinto, the first deaf Knesset member

On Tuesday, hundreds of Israeli ultranationalists, some chanting "Death to Arabs," paraded in east Jerusalem in a show of force threatening to spark renewed violence. Palestinians in Gaza responded with incendiary balloons that caused 10 fires in southern Israel.

The parade provided an early challenge for new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, a hardline Israeli nationalist who promised a pragmatic approach as he presides over a delicate, diverse coalition government.

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